FINAL BILL REPORT

SSB 6016

C 546 L 09

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Regarding educator training to enhance skills of students with dyslexia.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by Senators Benton, McAuliffe, Swecker, McDermott, Roach, Delvin, Stevens, Honeyford, McCaslin, Morton and Shin).

Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education

House Committee on Education

House Committee on Education Appropriations

Background: Since 2005 the Legislature has provided funding for up to five school districts to pilot a research-based, multi-sensory literacy intervention for students with dyslexia. Participating schools must have a three-tiered reading structure in place, provide professional development training to teachers, assess students, and collect and maintain data on student progress. In December 2008 the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) issued a report to the Legislature regarding the dyslexia pilots. The report found that 40 percent of the students who received services through the pilots met standard on the reading component of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), whereas only 17 percent of the same students had met standards on the reading WASL in 2007. The report included recommendations to provide statewide support and to develop a dyslexia handbook.

Summary: The Legislature intends to sustain the work of the dyslexia pilot projects and expand the implementation to a level of statewide support.

Within available resources, OSPI must develop an educator training program to enhance the academic skills of students with dyslexia by implementing the findings of the dyslexia pilot program. The training program must be posted on the website of OSPI and may be regionally delivered through the Educational Service Districts (ESDs). Beginning September 1, 2009, the ESDs must annually report to OSPI the number of individuals who participate in the ESD training. OSPI must report that information to the legislative education committees.

OSPI must develop a dyslexia handbook to be used as a reference for teachers and parents of students with dyslexia. The handbook must be modeled after other state dyslexia handbooks. OSPI must post the handbook on it's website.

When developing the educator training program and the handbook, OSPI must consult the school districts that participated in the dyslexia pilot programs and an international non-profit organization dedicated to supporting identification of and instruction for individuals with dyslexia. The ESDs may seek assistance from the international non-profit organization to deliver the training.

Votes on Final Passage: